As expected, Skype has added a new video calling feature to its iPhone app, giving users an alternate service from Apple's own FaceTime video chat standard. Meanwhile, an app that remapped the iPhone's volume button to serve as a shutter button has been quietly removed from the App Store.

Sony executive Kazuo Hirai hinted Wednesday that the next generation of its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming device will learn from the popularity of Apple's iPhone and iPod touch devices, implementing new touch-based controls and broadening its appeal to casual gamers.

The Wall Street Journal has posed its interview with HP's Jon Rubinstein, shedding additional light on the firm's future plans for webOS in light of his past as a top engineer working with Steve Jobs at Apple and NeXT.

Over the last half decade, Apple has radically changed what $999 can buy, with major advancements in the processor power, efficiency, connectivity, size, weight and quality of its entry level notebook.

Apple has launched a pilot of its EasyPay custom mobile retail software in a trial with Gap subsidiary Old Navy, opening a new market for the iPod touch in handheld payment transactions. [Update: This third-party report is erroneous, see here.]

Reports from a variety of analysts predict a huge swell in tablet computer sales next year ranging from 35 to 100 million units in total, with Apple's iPad accounting for the largest number sold by far.

For iOS devices, Apple's Black Friday sale remains the place to turn for some of the most material discounts with a few exceptions, such as $79.99 Apple TVs and $199 8GB iPod touches promoted elsewhere. [Update: the Apple TV deal has sold out]

Apple's retail store deals for Black Friday have posted in Australia, indicating its discounts in the US will translate to around $100 savings on desktops and notebooks, and $25 to $50 on iPads and iPods.

Early Black Friday discounts from Apple's authorized resellers continue to crop up Thursday, including offers for 20% off the new Apple TV, Microsoft Office 2011 for $89.99, VMWare Fusion for $27.99 and 64GB iPod touches for $349.